Conveying means



E. P.-DANDRIDGE.

CONVEYING M:EANS. APPLICATION nuzo 056.28. 1920.

Patented June 7,- 1921.

2 SHEET SSHEET 1.

w E, P. DANDRIDGE.

couvsvms MEANS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.28, 1920.

Patented Jim 7, 1921'.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED ra'r EDWARD P. DANDRIDGE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CONVEYING IMEANS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June '7, 1921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD P. DANDRIDGE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inConveying Means, of which the following is a specification.

One object of my invention is to provide an improved device for use inrestaurants, hotels, etc., for the purpose of conveying food from thekitchen to the dining room and for the purpose of delivering orders fromthe waiters in the dining room to the chef in the kitchen so as tofacilitate the service.

Another object is to so construct my improved device that it willinclude means operative by someone in the kitchen for actuating a.carriage; there also being present improved means for signaling theperson in the kitchen when to start or stop the conveying means both inthe outward movement therefrom from the kitchen and the inward movementthereof from the dining room to the kitchen.

smother object is to make the device of my invention of a durable andpractical construction and so that it can be operated and controlledwithout causing confusion.

These objects, and bther advantageous ends which will be describedhereinafter, I attain in the following manner, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of myimproved device,

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the right hand end of said device,

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional elevation taken on the line il of Fig.1,

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional elevation taken on the line 5-5 of Fig.1, and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view showing certain ofthe parts of my invention.

Referring to the drawings, 7 represents an elongated frame structurewhich includes side beams 8, cross beams 9 and supporting legs 10 allsecured together to form a rigid structure; the right hand end portionbeing adapted to be located in the kitchen while the portion to the leftof said latter men tioned portion is adapted to extend lengthwise intothe dining room and may be of any length suitable to the length of thedining room. The frame 7 forms a support for 'two rails 11 which providea track upon which is adapted to roll a carriage 12.

Two shafts 13 and 1 1 are mounted in suitable bearings adjacent oppositeends of the frame 7 and these shafts respectively have grooved pulleys15 and 16 thereon. The shaft 1 1- which, in the arrangement abovespecified will be positioned in the kitchen, has a hand crank 17 thereonwhich when turned will rotatethe pulley 16. A cable18 has one end hookedto the forward portion of the carriage 12 and from this end the cablepasses over and under the pulley 15, then lengthwise of the framebetween the beams 8, then upwardly around the pulley 16 and is hooked at19 to the rear end of the carriage 12. The cable 18 includes anadjustable turnbuckle 20 which can be moved to take up slack in thecable as is clearly obvious from the construction shown in Figs. 1 and2.

From the above construction it is clearly seen that if the hand'crank 17is rotated in one direction, the carriage 12 will move toward the righthand end of the frame and if the hand crank is moved in an oppositedirection, the carriage 12 willmove toward the left hand end of theframe. The carriage 12 supports atray 21; said tray being secured andprojecting over the top surfaces of side rails 22; said side railshaving a removable pin connection 2 3 with the tops of the beams 8. Thusany attempt of the carriage or tray to tilt will be resisted by the topsurfaces of the side rails 22. With this construction if the side rails22 become soiled they can be readily removed from the frame? by liftingthem so that the pins 23 thereon become detached from the frame. Thebottom run 2 1 of the cable 18 has se cured thereto an enlargement orring 25 preferably of non-metallic material such as tough leather, fiberor the like which has a certain degree of resilience. The main frame 7"has a lever 26 pivotally mounted thereon; said lever having an eye orhole 27. through which the bottom run 24 of the cable 18 passes. Thishole 27 is of less diameter than the diameter of the ring 25 so thatwhen the ring 25 reaches the lever 26 it cannot pass through the hole 27and will therefore swing the lever 26 on its pivot 28 against the actionof a spring 29; said i ends as shown at 34.

spring serving to hold the lever 26 in its normal position. The pivotpin 28, in the construction as illustrated, has another part 30 of thelever secured thereon which is movable into and out of engagement withan alarm device, such for example as a bell 31 asshown in Fig. 6. Thuswhenthe ring 25 moves the lever 26, the portion 30 of said lever willstrike the alarm device 31 and effect an audible alarm, notifying theperson operating the crank 17 to stop turning the shaft 14; it beingnoted that the ring 25 will; move the lever 26 to cause said alarm whenthe carriage 12reaches its full travel toward the left hand end of theframe.

, As a means of signaling the operator within the kitchen, when thewaiter desires to have the carriage returned, such for example as whenthe waiter desires an order of food, I attach a cord 32 on the. side ofthe frame; said cord being attached toa hammer 33 which is pivotedbetween its This hammer is normally held away from a projection 35 bymeans of a spring 36. Thus then the cord 32 is pulled from any positionwithin the length of the frame, the hammer will be swung to strike theprojection 35; thereby .making a noise informing the operator to movethe carriage toward the right hand end of the machine; it being notedthat said hammer and projectionare preferably positioned so as to belocated in the kitchen.

l Vith my improved apparatus it will be readily understood that thecarriage can be moved outwardly ,to-convey food and.

move inwardly either to return soiled dishes or the waiter can place awritten order upon the tray 21 so that it will be conveyed into thekitchen after which the chef can make up theorder and return the same onthe carriage to the waiter. This prevents the necessity of the waiterwalking backwardly and forwardly from the dining room to the kitchen andfacilitates the dispensation of the food; If a waiter desires thecarriage 12 to stop atfa particular place within the length of theframe, he can signal the operator through the medium of the cord 32, forexample, two pulls of the cord 32 will cause the hammer 33 to strike theprojection 35 twice; thus producing a signal, and the signal forreturning the carriagecan be produced, for example, by a single pull ofthe cord 32.

\Vhile I have described my invention as taking a particular form, itwill be understood that the various parts of my invention may be changedwithout departing from the spirit thereof, and hence Ido not limitmyself to the precise construction set forth, but consider that I am atliberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly come within thescope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Let 2. A device of the character described in V eluding asupporting structure having a track thereon; a carriage movable on saidtrack; oulleys respectively located adjacent opposite ends of the track;a cable passing around said pulleys and having its opposite ends in onerun thereof secured to the carriage; means forturning said pulleyswhereby the carriage can be moved backward and forward along the track;-and a signaling member having a holetherein through which a run of saidcable can pass, said cable hav ing an enlarged portion thereon notcapable of passing through said hole whereby the signaling device willbe operated to inform a person of the position of the carriage withrespect to the supporting structure; substantially as described.

3. A device of the character described including a supporting structurehaving a track thereon; a carriage movable on said track; pulleysrespectively located adjacent opposite ends of the track; a cablepassing around said pulleys and having its opposite ends of one runbetween the pulleys secured to the carriage; means for turning saidpulleys whereby the carriage can be moved backward and forward along thetrack; and side rails located at opposite sidesof said carriage andbeing detachably connected to said supporting structure; substantiallyas described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses. V nnwann r. DANDRIDGE.

VVitne-sses:

CHAS. E. Porrs, ELIZABETH GARBE.

